This invention relates generally to gas turbine engines, and more specifically to a turbofan engine assembly that includes a counter-rotating booster compressor.
At least some known turbofan engine assemblies include a fan assembly, a core gas turbine engine, and a low-pressure or power turbine. The core gas turbine engine includes at least one compressor, a combustor, and a high-pressure turbine that are coupled together in a serial flow relationship. Moreover, at least one known turbofan engine assembly includes a booster that is disposed between the fan assembly and the core gas turbine engine.
To improve the efficiency of the turbofan engine assembly, it is desirable to operate the fan assembly at a relatively low speed to improve fan efficiency and to operate the low-pressure turbine at a relatively high speed to improve the low-pressure turbine efficiency. However, to operate the fan assembly at a relatively slow speed, additional stages are added to the booster compressor. As a result, the length of the overall turbofan engine assembly is increased because of the additional booster stages. Moreover, the fan assembly is moved further away from the existing mounting system. As a result, the stiffness of the fan case structure and the fan frame must be increased, and additional bearings or structure may be installed to maintain stiffness driving performance and operational clearances. As such, the additional booster stages increase the overall cost, weight, and design complexity of the turbofan engine assembly.